Mikel Arteta drops Arsenal team news hint as Liverpool can win Premier League title today
Mikel Arteta was speaking ahead of Arsenal's Premier League match against Crystal Palace
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has confirmed he has no intention of resting players against Crystal Palace tonight. The Gunners head into the match at the Emirates Stadium 13 points behind Liverpool in the Premier League table.
Arteta’s side also know that defeat to the Eagles tonight will result in the Reds being crowned champions. Should the Gunners avoid defeat against Oliver Glasner’s men, then Liverpool will secure the title with a win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
But even though Arsenal have a Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain next week, Arteta has no intention of making changes and resting a number of his key stars.
He said: “Our incentive is to win our game (against Palace), and the rest we cannot control so we cannot think in those terms.
“When players are fit and are available and they want to play, they have to play. And they are at their best when they are playing and they have consistency in their performances.
“If they are not available, there’s no discussion. And if they are not in good condition to perform, we’re not going to play them.
“So there’s always a balance. And obviously you want to balance the risk and make sure that you are sensible with your decision making. But unfortunately in football anything can happen.”
Bukayo Saka has also handed Arteta an injury boost after he was declared fit to face Palace. The England international was withdrawn in the second half of Arsenal’s 4-0 win at Ipswich on Sunday following a late tackle on his standing ankle by Leif Davis.
But Arteta said: “We have to wait and see how he reacts after the session, but it’s nothing too serious. If we want to he would have a good chance to play tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, Leandro Trossard hopes his double in Sunday's 4-0 win at Portman Road sent a timely reminder to manager. He said: I’m very confident. Everyone needs to be on their toes and be ready to play.
“There are some big games coming up so everyone wants to be confident going into these games. As a forward player this is how you want to be and it’s good for everyone. It is always nice to be on the scoresheet to help your team.
“We want to win every game. I know it’s been up and down (this season), but we want to keep the momentum going and that’s what we did against Ipswich. Now we can look forward to the next one.”